What is a Content Management Workflow? Why You Need One in 2022 Creating an effective content workflow is a lot like baking a cake. If you accidentally pour unfinished batter into an unprepared pan, the damage is done. You can’t go back and prep the pan after the fact. Imagine your cake batter is your content, and the cake pan is its publication. If your content goes straight from the writer to your consumers, you are running a lot of risks. You must first edit and fact-check the content before publication and distribution. Readers become disinterested or upset at careless, incorrect content. And once the information is out there, it is nearly impossible to recover. Having the right people in place on your content team is not enough. To create quality content every time you post, your company needs to outline its processes in a content workflow. In this post, we’ll cover the topic of content workflow — what it is, how to manage it, and how you can create one for your business. Strategists, writers, editors, and managers are people you would have on your content team. Their tasks, seen in a workflow, include planning, writing, editing, publishing, and more; however, each function is not necessary for every content type. Depending on the content type, your workflow will change. Businesses can publish various content like newsletters, blog posts, and social media posts. The content workflow is different for each asset. For example, compare the publication of a...

The HubSpot Blog’s 2022 Content & Media Strategy Report Benjamin Franklin once said “Failing to plan is planning to fail,” and when it comes to content and media, truer words have never been spoken. Until 2020, that is. But, although 2020 saw some of the most unprecedented global events, 2021 continued to put content and media teams to the test. In fact, 99% of content planners, strategists, or marketers who have ever pivoted their strategy say some of their pivots happened in 2021. Unsurprisingly, the #1 reason they gave for this was the global pandemic. To make matters more complicated, 39% of those who pivoted in 2021 changed their content plan a whopping three times throughout the year. Despite all that turbulence, 62% of media planners say their content performed better than their goals in 2021. And, if anything, 2020 and 2021 taught marketing teams how important content planning and re-planning is. To get a sense of how marketers planned or pivoted their way through such an unpredictable year and how they will approach media planning in 2022, we surveyed 600+ media planners to gather data on their goals, strategies, the tools they use, and how they met the unique challenges of 2021. Curious about some strategies and insights specifically? Click below to jump to the section you'd like to read first. The Top Goals of Marketing Media and Content Planners Content and Media Planning Strategies Which Channels Marketers Use In Their...

What Will Content Planners Budget For in 2022 If you ask marketers about their 2020 content plans, most will tell you they had to pivot because of the pandemic. In 2021, many said the same thing, as the world adjusted to this new normal. We surveyed over 600 media planners this year and 99% of marketers who have ever pivoted their content plan did so in 2021, with 39% of them pivoting three times that year. So how are they budgeting in 2022? Let’s find out. How much are marketers spending on content marketing? According to HubSpot Blog Research, 39% of marketers surveyed say they allocate 31-50% of their total marketing budget to content marketing. This tells us that brands are leveraging content marketing above many other marketing strategies, as they put at least a third of their funding in it. Wondering exactly how much? Most marketers surveyed (26%) said their quarterly content marketing budget ranged between $40K to $80K. The second-highest figure was $100K-200K, reported by 16% of marketers surveyed, then $201K to $300K by 14% of respondents. The specific amount tells us less about how much importance brands place on content marketing and more about the cost of this strategy. It would be easy to think that all you need to do is write a few blog posts and that’s it. The truth is there’s so much that goes into content marketing, from copywriting and designing to research and media buying. If you don’t invest...

3 Tests Our Content Team Ran in 2021 & How They Impacted 2022 Planning 2021 was a big year for the HubSpot content team. Our team grew, we faced challenges, and we had some fun with experiments. Experiments can teach you a lot about your audience and help you unlock growth opportunities. Here are some experiments we ran in 2021 and what we learned from them. Conversion Rate Optimization In January 2021, the web strategy team decided to run a form optimization experiment to understand how altering our forms would affect our users, ahead of a blog redesign. When evaluating the current form, the team found that it was breaking several best practices relating to user experience (UX). For instance, the form used asterisks when all fields were required and users were unable to tab through the fields, taking longer to go through the form. This issue with the UX was further validated with high dropoff rates on offer pages. This meant that a secondary goal was clear: Improve the user experience of the forms on our content offer pages, which would then improve our conversion rate. With every experiment comes a hypothesis and this one had two, one for each goal: By redesigning the forms, we will learn the best approach to form design ahead of the blog redesign. By optimizing content offer forms’ design and functionality, we will improve the user experience and increase user clarity, which will lead to an increase in...

What Is Content Seeding & How Does It Work? Every summer, I start a vegetable garden. I purchase seeds, plant them in various places in my backyard, tend to them, and with the help of the right weather conditions, help them grow. Why am I talking about gardening on a marketing blog? Content seeding. But instead of planting zucchini seeds, marketers plant content to grow brand awareness and leads. Let's get into the specifics of what content seeding is and how it works. Content seeding allows brands to highlight their content in places target audiences will see and engage with it. Influencers are a prime choice for content seeding because they usually have large audiences. These audiences have been proven to trust influencers more than their friends. For instance, lifestyle subscription box FabFitFun has a target audience of women "ages 18-34, who love a good deal want to hear about the latest and greatest trends in beauty, fitness, nutrition, and style." When they work with influencers on content seeding, they choose platforms their target audience is interested in, like my favorite podcast, True Crime Obsessed (TCO). When I heard ads for FabFitFun on TCO, I was immediately interested in the brand and what it offers, so I followed the link in the podcast subscription. The added bonus of hearing high praises from hosts I've come to connect with and trust solidified my interest and ultimately drove me to subscribe. That's content seeding in motion. When...

10 Benefits of Consistent, High-Quality Content Marketing In this competitive B2B marketing landscape, businesses make substantial investments in building content marketing programs.Why? Content marketing has been proven to deliver resounding success. As one of the most effective methods of growing audience engagement, developing your brand presence, and driving sales, content marketing is a mission-critical growth method for most businesses. Below, let's review content marketing — the benefits of producing consistent, high-quality content, and how to measure success. According to the State of Inbound report, content creation is a top priority for 80% of marketers. Moreover, on average, content marketing accounts for26% of B2B marketing budgets. Consistent, high-quality, and engaging content impacts audience decision-making more than any other technique. Consistency in brand messaging is one of the many factors that determine the growth and success of your business. Big brands know how to portray their brand consistently and at every customer touchpoint. The same reasoning applies to content marketing — your content needs to carry a unique and identifiable voice, style, and pitch across all distribution channels. Content consistency establishes your credibility, builds trust, and strengthens your reputation. So, we know the content you create has to be consistent. However, why is content marketing so beneficial in the first place? Here are the top benefits of content marketing. Benefits of Content Marketing 1. Your audience will stick around longer. Great content is an important asset. It has the ability to create positive experiences for your potential...

What Is Content Intelligence? All marketers want a content marketing strategy that helps them generate influence and a large audience. Case in point — “how to develop a content marketing strategy” was the fifth most searched question about content marketing in 2020. Unfortunately, no concrete formula will help you generate incredible content with consistent results, yet it is essential to create incredible content with consistent results. Competitive intelligence poses a solution to this issue, yet only 23% of marketers leverage it in their content creation strategy. In this post, discover what content intelligence is, and the benefits that it will bring to marketers leveraging it as a tool to create their own content marketing strategy. It is essentially a GPS that leads you to a high-quality content strategy that drives leads, conversions, and revenue. You don’t have to guess what will be of interest to your audience because the data shows you what performs well with your audience based on market and competitor analysis. Why is content intelligence important? Many marketers use content marketing to communicate with their audiences and draw them in, and content intelligence helps them do so effectively. Some additional benefits include: Generating a deep understanding of your target audience and the type of content they enjoy based on competitor data and analysis. Data from market research helps you create content that is entirely centered around your users and what they enjoy. Gain insight into various content types and how...

How to Develop a Content Strategy in 7 Steps: A Start-to-Finish Guide Whether you're just starting out with content marketing or you've been using the same approach for a while, it never hurts to revisit your content strategy plan and make sure it's up-to-date, innovative, and engaging for your prospects and customers – no matter when or how they intend to buy. If you're having trouble planning for the upcoming year or need some fresh ideas to include in your plan, read on. In this post, we'll dive into what content strategy is, why your business needs a content marketing plan, and what steps you need to take to create your strategy. Plus, we'll explore some examples of effective content marketing strategies for inspiration. Say your business goals include increasing brand awareness. To achieve this, you might implement a content strategy that focuses on SEO to increase your website's visibility on the search engine results pages (SERPs) and drive traffic to your products or services. New business owners might assume a content strategy is a nice-to-have, but not necessary early on. However, producing high-quality content can be invaluable in building trust with new audiences and succeeding in the long haul. In essence, a good content strategy is the foundation of your Attract and Delight stages in a buyer's journey that follows the inbound marketing framework. Along with attracting prospects to your brand, you can leverage a content strategy for sales enablement and customer satisfaction. Plus, with 70%...

How to Create a Comprehensive How to Guide The irony doesn't escape me that I'm currently writing a "How to" guide on … "How to" guides. Fortunately, I've had my fair share of experiences writing How to guides for HubSpot over the years — some of my favorites include How to Give a Persuasive Presentation, How to Develop a Content Strategy: A Start-to-Finish Guide, and How to Write a Request for Proposal. How to Guides are incredibly valuable opportunities to reach new audiences with useful, high-quality content. Plus, for both B2B and B2C businesses, How to Guides are often necessary components of a healthy lead generation strategy. For instance, consider how many people search "How to " on Google each day: These search queries demonstrate one of the primary reasons people turn to the internet — to learn how to do something. If your business can reach those users with informative, relevant answers to their questions (related to your own products or services), those readers will begin to see your brand as an authority on the topic. Additionally, they'll appreciate the value you've provided them. Down the road, those same readers you first attracted with a How to Guide could become customers and loyal brand advocates who spread the word about your products or services to friends and family. Suffice to say: How to Guides matter. Here, we'll explore the right structure to use when making a How to Guide and how to write a comprehensive How to Guide....

The Evolution of Content Marketing: How It's Changed and Where It's Going in the Next Decade A sound content marketing strategy is one of the better ways a business can help shape its brand identity, garner interest from prospects, and retain an engaged audience. It lets you establish authority in your space, project legitimacy, and build trust between you and who you're trying to reach. As you can assume, it's well worth understanding. But that's easier said than done. Content marketing isn't static. The landscape of the practice is constantly changing. It doesn't look the same now as it did ten years ago, and in ten years it won't look the same as it does now. It's a difficult topic to pin down — one with a fascinating past and an exciting future. Out of both genuine interest and forward-thinking practicality, it's important to understand both where it's been and where it's going. Here, we'll get some perspective on both. We're going to take a look at how content marketing has evolved in the past decade, and how it's going to evolve in the next one. How Content Marketing Evolved in the Past Decade Google changed the game. In 2011, Google conducted its landmark Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) study. It found that 88% of shoppers use what's known as a Zero Moment of Truth — a discovery and awareness stage in a buying cycle where a consumer researches a product before buying it. Google's research also indicated...